NEW YORK,NY- Raja Rajeswari has been sworn-in as a criminal court judge by Mayor Bill de Blasio, becoming the first India-born woman to be appointed a judge in the New York City. Rajeswari, 43, who had immigrated to the US from India as a teenager, previously worked with the Richmond County District Attorney’s Office for her entire career in several bureaus. Rajeswari took the oath...

of office at a ceremony on Apr 27 along with 27 other judges appointed earlier in April to various courts. “To ensure New Yorkers have access to a fair, equitable justice system, we need judges who are qualified, honest and reflective of the people of this city,” said Mayor de Blasio. The mayor said Rajeswari has an “extraordinary, extraordinary empathy for others.”He lauded her ability to speak in Indian, Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian languages, saying she put her history as an immigrant and ability to speak all these languages to work, “helping to reach immigrants” in the Staten Island communities where she served as an Assistant District Attorney. “And she saw as her mission to give them confidence in the justice process,” de Blasio said.Rajeswari had said earlier “It’s like a dream. It’s way beyond what I imagined,” she was quoted as saying in the media report.“For someone like me, an immigrant who comes from India, I’m beyond grateful,” she said.Rajeswari said that she hopes to use her new position to improve the judicial system by encouraging interpreters to have more access to aid immigrants. “I’m honored to sit on a city bench and make Staten Island proud,” she said. (PTI)